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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDRAFT 01 27 14 City Council Minutes 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 rNNESO REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES January 27, 2014 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Present were Mayor Hedberg, Councilors Keen- ey, McGuire, and Soukup, City Manager Boyles, City Attorney Rosow, City Engineer / Inspec- tions Director Poppler, Project Engineer Thongvanh, Public Works / Natural Resources Director Gehler, Finance Director Erickson, Fire Chief Hartman, Police Chief O'Rourke, Assistant City Manager Meyer and Administrative Assistant Green. PUBLIC FORUM The Public Forum is intended to afford the public an opportunity to address concerns to the City Council. The Public Forum will be no longer than 30 minutes in length and each presenter will have no more than ten (10) minutes to speak. Topics of discussion are restricted to City gov- ernmental topics rather than private or political agendas. Topics may be addressed at the Pub- lic Forum that are on the agenda except those topics that have been or are the subject of a scheduled public hearing or public information hearing before the City Council, the Economic Development Authority (EDA), Planning Commission, or any other City Advisory Committee. The City Council may discuss but will not take formal action on Public Forum presentations. Matters that are the subject of pending litigation are not appropriate for the Forum. Comments: No person stepped forward to speak. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilor McGuire added Other Business item 11A, Off Sale Liquor License Survey. Mayor Hedberg added Other Business item 11B, Direction to Staff Regarding Hookah Loung- es. MOTION BY MCGUIRE, SECOND BY SOUKUP TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, McGuire, Morton and Soukup. The motion carried. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES MOTION BY MORTON, SECOND BY KEENEY TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JANU- ARY 13, 2014 CITY COUNCIL MEETING. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, McGuire and Morton. Councilor Soukup abstained due to her absence at the meeting. The motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA City Manager Boyles reviewed the items on the consent agenda. A. Consider Approval of Claims Listing B. Consider Approval of Building Permit Summary Report C. Consider Approval of Animal Control Services Report D. Consider Approval of Fire Department Report E. Consider Approval of Police Department Report Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 / www.cityofpriorlake.com F. Consider Approval of a Temporary On -Sale Liquor License for the Prior Lake Hockey As- sociation G. Consider Approval of Resolution 14 -015 Ordering the Preparation of a Feasibility Report for the Stemmer Ridge Road Street Improvement Project H. Consider Approval of Resolution 14 -016 Accepting Donations and Grants to the City Dur- ing the 4th Quarter of 2013 I. Consider Approval of Resolution 14 -017 Approving Community Survey Questions and Au- thorizing the Mayor and City Manager to Enter into the City's Standardized Professional Services Agreement MOTION BY MCGUIRE, SECOND BY SOUKUP TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, McGuire, Morton and Soukup. The motion carried. PRESENTATIONS No presentation was scheduled. PUBLIC HEARINGS No public hearing was scheduled. OLD BUSINESS Consider Approval of a Resolution Amending the City Street Lighting Policy City Engineer Poppler reviewed the revisions directed by Council that were made to the policy. Stated that a City -wide street Tight inventory was taken and calculations made about street light- ing costs. Stated that language was added to address construction situations. Language was also added to address LED lighting for the possibility of LED lights in the future. Commented that a pole- mounted traditional Tight was researched, but no vendor was found that offered or would make that type of feature. Described changes suggested by the City Attorney to be in- corporated into the policy that referenced adding, "if there is no homeowner's association, indi- vidual residents through covenants filed against the property," throughout the policy as well as a reference to resident's paying a portion of the capital costs. MOTION BY SOUKUP, SECOND BY MCGUIRE TO APPROVE RESOUTION 14 -018 AMEND- ING THE STREET LIGHTING POLICY. Keeney: Noted that the attached diagram of a light specifies sodium lamps and "or LED" could be added. Poppler: Responded that the diagram is part of and will be updated with the public works de- sign manual. Noted there are other changes to be made also. Keeney: Reiterated his objection to the design requirement for decorative lights in downtown and MnDOT highways believing the cost to be excessive, and that less expensive lights could function just as well. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, McGuire and Soukup. Nays by Keeney and Morton. The motion car- ried. Consider Approval of a Resolution Ordering the Maple Lane, Mushtown Road, and Pan- ama Improvement project and the Preparation of Plans and Specifications Mayor Hedberg stated for the audience that action on this item does not mean the project has been approved. Project Engineer Thongvanh reviewed the history of this project's discussion to this point. Introduced Pete Schmitt and Kate Sedlacek from the Scott County Environ- mental Health Department. Reviewed the proposed project improvements of sanitary sewer, watermain, storm sewer and traffic calming. Reviewed a proposal (option #3) that would elimi- DRAFT 01 27 14 City Council Meeting Minutes 2 nate sanitary sewer and watermain on Maple Lane and identified the pros and cons of that plan. Discussed benefit appraisals noting that four of five properties support the original assessment amount. Reviewed estimated project costs and proposed funding options for both the original option and the alternate (option #3) including sewer and water trunk funds, street oversizing funding and water quality fund. Reviewed estimated assessments noting they would be subject to change depending on how the project is bid. Reviewed a sample 20 -year payment schedule. Sedlacek provided a PowerPoint presentation about County septic inspections stating septic systems have been regulated since the 1970s. Stated she is a licensed septic inspector for de- sign, installation and compliance. Reviewed frequently asked questions about septic system replacement and costs. Discussed what a compliance inspection involves. Stated that if a sys- tem fails an inspection, the County will enforce compliance. Stated that 16 of 35 systems in the project area are known or suspected to be failing. Stated the County did not enforce replace- ment systems in this area because of the understanding that municipal infrastructure would be provided soon. Discussed code requirements for septic system setbacks, variances the City Council may be asked to grant and how they impact considerations for replacement septic sys- tems. City Engineer / Inspections Director Poppler discussed septic system credits provided for in the Orderly Annexation Agreement. Spoke of a hook -up deferral for certified septic systems. Provided information learned from the traffic study conducted on Mushtown Road and dis- cussed traffic calming alternatives. Stated that some of the traffic calming ideas were presented to the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee and they have endorsed them for this project area. Discussed property acquisition needs for easements. Discussed proposed construction phasing with Mushtown Road and Maple Lane likely occurring in 2014 and Panama Avenue in 2015. Reviewed the merits of completing the project including road deterioration, safety, sanitary sew- er and watermain, water quality and preparation for serving areas to the south. MOTION BY MCGUIRE, SECOND BY SOUKUP TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 14 -019 OR- DERING IMPROVEMENTS AND PREPARATION OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR MAPLE LANE, MUSHTOWN ROAD AND PANAMA AVENUE (PROJECT #14 -011); FINANC- ING THE MAPLE LANE, MUSHTOWN ROAD AND PANAMA AVENUE IMPROVEMENT PRO- JECT TO BE UNDERTAKEN BY THE CTIY AND ESTABLISHING COMPLIANCE WITH REIM- BURSEMENT BOND REGULATIONS UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE. Keeney: Noted that #7 on the proposed resolution shows a distribution of funding sources. Stated he would support changing the funding sources as he believes assessments as estimat- ed will be burdensome. Invited discussion about how funding sources could be adjusted. McGuire: Commented that when bids are received, the true cost of the project will be known and then staff can work towards lowering assessments. Stated the project is necessary and be- lieves the policy for how costs are assessed should be reviewed. Keeney: Believes the funding sources reflect option #3. McGuire: States he hopes the costs can be reduced more by the time the project comes back to the next public hearing. Keeney: Stated he would rather change the assessment amounts now. Hedberg: Asked what basis could be used to change the assessments. Stated that other pro- jects will be similar to this. Agreed the policy should be reviewed. Policy has been that home- owners pay 100% for first time installation of utilities and that should be examined. Agreed the assessment burden should be eased, but believes the Assessment Committee should work with staff to develop policy that will last over the years. Morton: Noted that only nine systems are Tess than 20 years of age and all others will not be eligible for assistance. Believes that approving this action now moves the project forward and does nothing to assuage fears of the property owners. DRAFT 0127 14 City Council Meeting Minutes 3 Hedberg: Stated that this proposed action is to proceed with preparing plans and specifica- tions. Following that, the policy should be reviewed. This step is not assigning assessments and the project has additional steps before it would be approved. Morton: Stated this step moves down the path of proceeding with the project and does not give property owners actual cost information. Hedberg: Stated that the statements made by Keeney and Morton are inferring the project is not needed and should be stopped. Believes there is much evidence that shows the project is needed and the City has an obligation to provide an effective City infrastructure. Agreed a way should be found for the cost to be less burdensome and believes there are ways that can be found to do that. Keeney: Believes the policy needs to be addressed first in order to have basis for the decision made about funding. If the plans and specs are passed under the existing policy it will not be justified and lead others to believe we just want to give these property owners a discount. Be- lieves the policy needs to be modified so that when it is applied to a project that is ordered, the City can come up with numbers that are more affordable. Wants this project to wait until the policy is reviewed and a new policy in place before the project is ordered. Morton: Believes there is valid reason for the project to go forward, but believes the financing should be addressed up front. McGuire: Stated that until bids are received and a firmer number for costs, we cannot know what the assessment will be. Need to get the bids. Asked if Keeney is suggesting this be ta- bled until the Assessment Committee can bring back a formal policy. Keeney: Stated he cannot support moving forward at this time with these proposed assess- ment amounts. Hedberg: Asked what it means if the resolution ordering plans and specifications is passed at this time. Rosow: Stated that Statute requires that the feasibility report include an estimated cost of im- provement and a reasonable estimate of assessed amount; and a description of the methodolo- gy used to calculate individual assessments must be available at the hearing (which was previ- ously held). The Statute does not require that the resolution contain an estimate or funding allo- cations. Hedberg: Clarified that # 7 in the resolution is not required. Rosow: Correct. Noted that has been the Council's custom to see proposed funding, but it is a Council directive rather than a requirement of State law. Soukup: Believes the entire Council agrees that these assessment amounts are burdensome and she would want to know what the assessment amount would be and what could be done for alternative funding. Understands that special assessment means a property owner cannot be assessed more than the property's value will be improved by the project. Asked if it is realistic to believe that much value will be added to their properties. Asked if there is a cap on how much can be assessed. Poppler: Responded that appraisals revealed that all residential properties did realize the ben- efit. Only the commercial property did not realize the benefit of the proposed assessment. Stat- ed the commercial property was assigned three units and the Assessment Committee will have to review that. Hedberg: Clarified that an assumption is that if the residential appraisals support the benefit, all of the properties will. Noted that does not include the hook -up costs. Soukup: Asked if there will be other costs to the homeowner besides assessment and hook- up. Poppler: Reviewed the work done outside of the property. Stated that when the property is ready for hook -up, a private contractor connects from the street right -of -way into their home. City tries to locate the utilities in a way that minimizes that cost. Soukup: Asked for clarification of the deferred connection option. Poppler: Reviewed the option. DRAFT 01 27 14 City Council Meeting Minutes 4 Soukup: Clarified the compliance requirements for using the deferred connection option. Schmitt: Believes some people had their tanks pumped and thought that meant they were compliant, but that is not necessarily true. The system must be Teak -proof to be compliant. Soukup: Asked why the leaking tanks were not addressed until now. Schmitt: Replied that the County does not take action on cesspools unless there is a compli- ance inspection. Some properties are anticipated to be cesspools because of the age of the systems. Soukup: Asked if there were unauthorized accesses to properties. Poppler: Responded that in mid - December he received a call from a property owner who dis- covered footprints on their property and contacted the City believing septic system checks were being done. Stated he contacted the County and learned they did not conduct any septic sys- tem checks. Explained that consultants who were surveying were likely the people there. Ex- plained that surveys are done for a feasibility study so the information to start designing is avail- able. Private property data is collected to assure that driveway grades are correct, to learn building corners sites and to take photos of wells and septics in order to place services in the right -of -way that will line up the least expensive way to make the connections. Surveyors were seeking locations, not reviewing septic systems. Hedberg: Stated that the expectation is for surveyors to let property owners know they are on their property and if that did not happen, WSB can address that with their consultants. Noted that action to approve this resolution requires four votes. Proposed tabling the item. MOTION BY HEDBERG, SECOND BY KEENEY TO TABLE THIS ITEM AND DIRECT STAFF TO WORK WITH THE ASSESSMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE IN AN EXPEDITED FASHION TO REVIEW AND RECOMMEND FUNDING POLICIES FOR THIS KIND OF PROJECT, SPE- CIFICALLY WHEN DEALING WITH AN ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOOD RECEIVING UTILI- TIES FOR THE FIRST TIME. Boyles: Noted that a motion to table takes precedence over the previous motion. Keeney: Noted that one big piece is Mushtown Road that goes to development to the south and the park; and the cost and purpose of that road compared to the needs of this neighbor- hood should be examined. Another piece is the trunk of sewer and water going down to Pana- ma and whether a fair apportionment of that could go to future development. Noted that not be- ing in conjunction with the County when they resurfaced Panama is adding to the City's cost. Hedberg: Added that the City's policy of 100% assessment for utilities into established neigh- borhoods is not applied to all cities and should also be looked at because there is obligation to establish consistent infrastructure to all areas of the City. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, McGuire, Morton and Soukup. The motion carried. McGuire: Asked if this will be tabled to a date specific. Rosow: Replied it is not required for the motion, but it will be appropriate given the public inter- est to have some means to notify them when it will be brought back to the Council. At that time, the first motion should be to take it off the table for continued discussion. Hedberg: Stated that notification will be made to property owners when it is scheduled to come back to Council. Keeney: Asked if the Assessment Committee meeting is a public meeting. Rosow: Replied that it is not a public meeting nor required to be open under the Open Meeting Law. The meeting does not involve a quorum of the Council and members are not empowered to take action on behalf of the Council. RECESS Mayor Hedberg called a recess at 8:43 p.m. DRAFT 01 27 14 City Council Meeting Minutes 5 RECONVENE Mayor Hedberg reconvened the meeting at 8:47 p.m. Consider Approval of a Report from the City Attorney with Respect to Resolution #13 -094 and Payment of Sales Tax for Sunset Avenue Lift Station Components City Attorney Rosow reviewed the bid and State law with respect to payment of sales tax. Stated the City, as the purchaser, is required to pay either the sales tax or a user tax. MOTION BY SOUKUP, SECOND BY MORTON TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 14 -019 AMEND- ING CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION #13 -094. Morton: Stated it should be made part of future bids to account for the sales tax in the bid price. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, McGuire, Morton and Soukup. The motion carried. NEW BUSINESS Consider Approval of Water, Sewer, and Storm Water Ordinance Amendments related to Utility Billing Accounting Manager Erickson stated that staff worked with the City Attorney to revise ordi- nance that is impacted by the Council's decision to discontinue the practice of shutting off water services for delinquent utility accounts. MOTION BY MCGUIRE, SECOND BY SOUKUP TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 14 -020 AP- PROVING THE SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE 114 -03 AND ORDERING THE PUBLICATION OF SAID SUMMARY. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, McGuire, Morton and Soukup. The motion carried. MOTION BY MCGUIRE, SECOND BY KEENEY TO APPROVE ORDINANCE 114 -03 AMEND- ING PART 7 OF THE PRIOR LAKE CITY CODE BY AMENDING PORTIONS OF SECTION 704 RELATING TO THE CITY WATERWORKS SYSTEM, SECTION 705 RELATING TO THE SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM, AND SECTION 707 RELATING TO STORM WATER MAN- AGEMENT. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, McGuire, Morton and Soukup. The motion carried. Consider Approval of an Ordinance Amending Section 804 of the Prior Lake City Code Relating to Firearms and Special Hunts City Manager Boyles reviewed the firearms and special hunt ordinance revisions that consider measures of managing nuisance wildlife populations in order to qualify for a special hunt. MOTION BY SOUKUP, SECOND BY MORTON TO APPROVE ORDINANCE 114 -02 AMEND- ING PART 8 OF THE PRIOR LAKE CITY CODE BY REPLACING SECTION 804 RELATING TO FIREARMS IN ITS ENTIRETY. Morton: Asked if it is the responsibility of the person requesting the hunt to maintain the man- agement of wildlife populations from year to year. Boyles: Affirmed and referred to 804.501, 6, b. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, McGuire, Morton and Soukup. The motion carried. DRAFT 01 27 14 City Council Meeting Minutes 6 OTHER BUSINESS Off Sale Liquor License Survey Councilor McGuire stated he was contacted by an owner of an off sale liquor store who said that the City's regulations are harsh. Stated he would like a survey conducted of surrounding areas to learn their violation penalties for selling to a minor just so the City Council knows where it stands comparatively speaking. MOTION BY MCGUIRE, SECOND BY HEDBERG TO DIRECT STAFF TO CONDUCT A SUR- VEY OF SURROUNDING AREAS TO LEARN WHETHER THE STATEMENT WAS CORRECT. Soukup: Asked what the scope of the survey would be. McGuire: Replied he would like to know the penalty of first and second violations in other cities. Keeney: Believes the penalties in place are an important part of ensuring safety in our commu- nity and he would not want to err in the direction of leniency. Stated it is an important part of their business to be compliant. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, McGuire and Morton. Nays by Keeney and Soukup. The motion car- ried. Provide Direction to Staff Regarding Hookah Lounges MOTION BY HEDBERG, SECOND BY MCGUIRE DIRECTING STAFF TO BRING A RECOM- MENDATION FOR A MORATORIUM ON HOOKAH LOUNGES AND A TIMELINE FOR LOOK- ING AT ZONING MODIFICATIONS. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, McGuire, Morton and Soukup. The motion carried. Hedberg: Displayed the community events calendar magnet that is available in the Recreation Department and the lobby of City Hall. ADJOURNMENT With no further business brought before the Council, a motion to adjourn was made by Soukup and seconded by Keeney. The motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 9:03 p.m. Frank Boyles, City Manager Charlotte Green, Administrative Assistant DRAFT 01 27 14 City Council Meeting Minutes 7